What to Do If You Get Pulled Over by the Police

By
Hopper Law Firm, PLLC
|June 23, 2014

If you know ahead of time what to do at a police stop, this can help you
immensely in overcoming any subsequent
traffic violation citations or even DUI charges. If someone does not know how to handle
being pulled over, they could be faced with an undeserved arrest. Read
on for some guidelines on how to deal with being pulled over by the police.

First off, you will have to bear in mind that a police officer may approach
you cautiously, even suspiciously. This is because officers do get killed
over basic traffic stops. What this means is that when you are pulled
over, you should park and turn off your car, and then lower your window.
If this is at night, turn on the light over your head. Then you need to
place your hands on the steering wheel. If the officer cannot see your
hands, or sees you shuffling things around in your glove box to get your
registration, then the officer will approach you warily, thinking that
you might be reaching for a weapon. Instead, do not go for your driver's
license or your vehicle registration until an officer tells you to. And
then when you are asked to get this identification, let the officer know
if you will have to reach into the glove compartment, your purse, your
pocket, etc.

Also remember that an officer does not have to tell you right away about
why you were stopped. In fact, you should let the officer start the conversation,
and you can keep your answers short and sweet. The officer is probably
going to try to get you to admit that you violated a traffic law, and
if you apologize for anything like speeding in order to get off with a
warning, this can backfire on you. So if an officer asks if you know why
you were pulled over, say no.

As a rule, you should comply with an officer's requests politely, even
if this includes being asked to step out of the car. Of course, you only
have to comply with their legal requests. Also, if the officer asks for
your permission to search the car, do not say yes. You do not need the
delay, and if an officer is asking, this means that they do not have probable
cause to start a search of your vehicle. If they did, then they could
conduct a search whether you liked it or not.

What if you were pulled over, and you know you had a drink before you set
out? You certainly do not need to volunteer this information. If an officer
suspects that you might have been driving under the influence, then you
may be asked to perform field sobriety tests. You have the right to refuse
these if you so choose. All it can take is a simple lack of coordination
or a medical to fail those sobriety tests. If you refuse breath or blood
tests later on, however, this will bring on serious consequences, such
as driver's license suspension.

If you have already gone through a traffic stop that landed you with a
citation or a criminal charge, fight this with Hopper, Hopper & Mulligan, PLLC.
Our Raleigh criminal lawyers may be able to provide the aggressive legal
defense that you deserve. And if you responded rightly to the police stop,
this can help your defense. On the flipside, if the police officer did
not handle the stop correctly, such as through violating your search and
seizure rights, this could mean getting your charges dismissed. To learn
about the defenses available to you, do not hesitate to
contact our firm today!

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.